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George Michael to face court after being charged by police for being 'unfit to drive'
Last updated at 23:22pm on 31.12.06
George Michael: Could face a jail term of up to six months if convicted of being unfit to drive
Pop singer George Michael has been charged by police after he was found slumped unconscious against the steering wheel of his car.
The 43-year-old former Wham! frontman faces a court hearing next week, after officers discovered him passed out in his Mercedes car in October. They also found cannabis in his possession.
Michael, who has been shocked by the charges, could face a jail term of up to six months if convicted of being unfit to drive.
He was told shortly before Christmas that he was being charged and will appear at Brent Magistrates Court in London next week.
His court appearance comes after he was arrested in October when police discovered him unconscious in his car at a busy junction near his north London home just after 3.20am.
They also discovered a small amount of a substance believed to be cannabis for which he has since been cautioned.
Police had been called by worried motorists who reported that his car was causing an obstruction at traffic lights in Cricklewood.
It was the third time Michael, real name Georgios Kyriacos Panayiotou, had been involved in a motoring incident last year.
He was cautioned in February for possession of the class C drug after being found asleep at the wheel of his parked Mercedes near Hyde Park.
Although he was arrested on suspicion of being unfit to drive and held by police overnight, he was never charged.
In April, Michael again faced police questioning after allegedly smashing into three parked cars in his new £60,000 Range Rover.
Michael, who lives with his partner Kenny Goss, 48 openly admits to reguarly using cannabis.
In October he paid tribute to the drug claiming it kept him "sane" and "happy" The singer even allowed television cameras to film him puffing on a joint while being interviewed for ITV's The South Bank Show, while he was in Madrid.
In the interview, hosted by Melvyn Bragg, he went on to declare that the drug, which has been linked to psychosis and other mental problems, is 'very good for creative people' .
In July, the singer was caught having sex with a stranger on Hampstead Heath.
In a frank interview with Channel 4's Richard and Judy show, he insisted he felt no shame about his sexual encounters with strangers.
Friends have previously expressed concerns about Michael's lifestyle. Sir Elton John famously fell out with him in 2005 after declaring: 'George is in a strange place. There appears to be a deeprooted unhappiness in his life.' However, the pair have since made up.
A Scotland Yard spokesman said: "On 21 December Georgious Panayiotou, a musician, 43, from Highgate was charged with being unfit to drive. He will appear on bail at Brent Magistrates court on January 11."
Concerned motorists had banged on his car window and honked their horns to try and rouse him when it happened less than a mile from his £8 million Georgian house.
Michael, who had been rushed to hospital when police found his lifeless body, publicly denied he had a drugs problem the day after his arrest. At the time he said: "That's the second time in a year I have been caught with one unused spliff in the car.
"I had no drink or drugs in my body. I haven't got a problem with drugs."
